Chapter 39
Seeing the messages popping up one after another before their eyes, Shin Sujin and Kang Juhyeok were bewildered.
Fallen? What...?
Just then, black smoke suddenly began to rise from the man's corpse.
"Step back!"
Kang Juhyeok, who was nearby, urgently stepped back.
Crackle-
The man's skin turned pale, and a single horn sprouted from his forehead. It was an instantaneous change.
Gggrrr-
The man raised his body while letting out a bizarre, drawn-out shriek. His eyes were completely pitch-black, the whites having disappeared.
Aside from his intact limbs, his appearance was no longer something that could be called human.
"M-Monster...!"
"Kyaaaak!"
The onlookers scattered while screaming.
The man, who had been looking around and twitching his head like a bug, lunged toward the people.
Grab!
Shin Sujin grabbed the man's arm.
His thrashing was not the strength of an ordinary human.
Shin Sujin subdued him by twisting his arm and slamming him into the ground, then shouted.
"Hey! Snap out of it!"
"Kyaaaak...!"
The man only shrieked and thrashed about.
It seemed communication was completely impossible.
Shin Sujin furrowed her brow and spoke while keeping the man subdued.
"Tell them to bring Climber restraints over here."
"Yes, but will that work...?"
"He's weaker than Level 10. It'll be fine."
She tried to grasp the situation.
The message clearly stated that the deceased personnel would resurrect as Fallen.
If so, did all over 40,000 people turn into monsters like this...?
While Kang Juhyeok was hurriedly making a call, a transmission came over the radio.
- A terrorist incident occurred within the Seoul Arts Center in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Multiple casualties are estimated. Urgent backup is requested from nearby Climber Surveillance Department personnel...
The two people's faces stiffened even more seriously.
A terrorist incident—they couldn't say it was unrelated to the current situation. Something had gone wrong over there as well.
The Seoul Arts Center happened to be right nearby.
Shin Sujin agonized with her teeth clenched, then slammed her fist down.
Crunch!
The man's head was crushed.
The man died instantly and no longer even twitched.
"Clean up the situation here. I'm heading over there."
"Yes...! Please be careful!"
Without even getting in the car, Shin Sujin began running at an incredible speed in the direction of the Seoul Arts Center.
Arriving at the Seoul Arts Center building, she soon approached the police who were aiming their guns at the entrance.
"Do not approach! It's dangerous!"
"I am Section Chief Shin Sujin of the Climber Bureau's Climber Surveillance Department. What is the situation inside?"
When she held out her ID, the police stopped restraining her.
Just then, a person walked out from the entrance, bleeding. Their face was stricken with terror.
"M-Monster... There's a monster inside..."
"Officer Park! Hurry and take this person!"
One police officer took the injured person and moved away.
The police were also in a state of extreme tension. A superior explained the situation to Shin Sujin.
"Well... We haven't yet properly grasped the situation either. A monster appeared inside during a performance, and it seems many people are still trapped. We received orders to stand by and not enter, but..."
Shin Sujin nodded.
"I will enter. It would be best for all of you to stand by a bit further away from the entrance."
"What? It's dangerous! We have to wait until backup arrives...!"
Shin Sujin walked past the police and went into the entrance.
---
The location always changed whenever I received Magic Stones.
Honestly, I wondered if there was a need to go that far for what wasn't exactly a top-secret transaction, but it didn't hurt to be careful.
"Thank you."
Today, we met near the exit of Gyodae Station.
The foreign man handed over a bag full of Magic Stones as always, received the bag containing the Highest Grade Magic Stone from me, and left.
I slung the bag over my shoulder and started walking.
I'll sell these at the Magic Stone Exchange and take a walk downtown today before heading back.
Ah... Come to think of it, is it about time?
I checked the Nightmare Time Limit.
\[Nightmare\]
Personnel: 330,901
Time Limit: 1 Year 57 Seconds
Floor Reached: 4th Floor
"One minute left."
When the time limit hit exactly 1 year, the First-Wave Climbers who hadn't entered the tower would die off.
It wasn't like I could do anything just by watching.
I stood still and watched until the time limit became 1 year.
\[Nightmare\]
Personnel: 330,982
Time Limit: 1 Year 1 Second
Floor Reached: 4th Floor
The moment the time limit hit exactly 1 year occurred.
\[3 years have been exceeded.\]
\[A total of 43,456 Climbers have not entered the tower and will die.\]
The messages popped up.
...Over 40,000 people are dying?
Worldwide, it might not be a large number, but it was still in the tens of thousands. Tens of thousands of people died in an instant.
"The tower, this son of a bitch."
What good does doing this even do for you?
I was muttering curses while feeling bitter, when...
\[Climbers who died from the Tower's Curse will resurrect as 'Fallen'.\]
\[There is a 90% chance for a Stage 1 Fallen to spawn.\]
\[There is a 9% chance for a Stage 2 Fallen to spawn.\]
\[There is a 0.9% chance for a Stage 3 Fallen to spawn.\]
\[There is a 0.09% chance for a Stage 4 Fallen to spawn.\]
\[There is a 0.01% chance for a Stage 5 Fallen to spawn.\]
More messages popped up.
...What? What is this?
"Fallen?"
I couldn't understand what it meant, but I could immediately tell that something unusual was happening.
I checked the communication window.
\[Ecstasy: Hey, what is this? Did everyone see the message?\]
\[Ghost Sword: It says they resurrect as Fallen?\]
\[Gabriel: Crazy! The dead people turned into monsters\]
\[Kingdom: Monsters? What are you talking about?\]
\[Bell Sound: The Climbers who just died turned into horned monsters! Fuck, I have to run, so I can't take questions!\]
The communication window was also in chaos.
Skimming through the posts, I roughly grasped the situation.
It seems the dead Climbers turned into monsters?
Does resurrecting as a Fallen mean becoming a monster?
“What the hell.”
It was clear the tower was pulling some bullshit.
Looking around the peaceful streets in contrast to the chaotic communication window, I figured I should head home for now.
I went down to the station and was waiting for the subway to arrive.
This time, the phone in my pocket vibrated like crazy.
- \[Emergency Disaster Alert\] Grotesque creatures are appearing across the country. Citizens are advised to refrain from going out and to evacuate to a safe place to secure their safety.
- \[Eunpyeong-gu\] A monster appearance near Yeonsinnae Station. Absolutely do not approach...
- \[Yongin-si\] Monster appearance inside Everland. Tourists are advised to evacuate immediately...
- \[Busan-si\] A monster appearance in the middle of Busan Bridge...
Disaster alerts are popping up one after another.
What is all this...
I called my family.
Fortunately, my whole family was at home today, as my father had the day off from work and my younger sibling had no classes.
"Hello? Yes, everyone is at home, right? The texts... Yes, yes. I'm in a safe place too, so don't worry."
Even after I hung up, the disaster alerts kept flooding in.
I paused after seeing one of them.
- \[Seocho-gu\] Monster appearance inside the Seoul Arts Center. Absolutely do not approach...
...The Seoul Arts Center is right nearby.
“Should I go check it out?”
My hesitation was short.
I came back out of the station, caught a taxi, and got in.
"Please take me to the front of the Seoul Arts Center."
It pricked my conscience to just turn a blind eye when it was right nearby.
And I felt the need to confirm with my own two eyes what these Fallen were.
I arrived quickly at the destination.
As I approached the Seoul Arts Center building, I spotted police cars and police standing at the entrance.
Wee-woo, wee-woo-
I saw an ambulance zoom past me and stop urgently next to the police cars.
It doesn't seem like... the situation is completely over.
The police were aiming their guns at the entrance.
I looked around and called Diul.
“Diul.”
In a Stealth State, I passed the police and entered the entrance.
I hardened my expression. A terrible stench of blood was wafting from inside.
---
Walking down the corridor past the entrance, Shin Sujin looked around nervously.
The inside of the building was quiet, and the metallic scent of blood pierced her nose from within.
Sob, sob, sob...
And the faint sound of crying that had been echoing for a while.
Upon stepping into the opera theater, Shin Sujin flinched at the sight that filled her vision.
A few precariously flickering lights, and bright red blood and corpses were scattered all over the dark theater interior.
Gggrrr-
Shin Sujin spotted a monster staggering around between the auditorium seating.
It had a similar appearance to the man who had turned into a monster earlier.
The only difference was that this one had three horns on its forehead.
Sob... Sob, sob, sob...
The sound of crying was heard again.
This time, Shin Sujin looked up at the stage.
Among the corpses of the performers, another monster sat crouched, crying with its head buried in its knees.
That one had five horns.
Just looking at it gave her a creepy sensation.
Shin Sujin prepared for combat for now.
However, neither of the two monsters showed any reaction to her.
She quietly observed the monsters, then took a different action instead of fighting right away.
Muffling her footsteps, she approached the presences she felt in the auditorium seating here and there.
"U-Ugh..."
Under the auditorium seating near the entrance, a man and a woman were hiding, crouching down and covering their heads.
Shin Sujin whispered to them as they were stricken with terror.
"I'm here to save you. It's okay."
The man, dripping tears and snot, shook his head.
"T-T-They all died while running away... That monster..."
Shin Sujin checked the two monsters again and calmed them down.
"It's okay. We have to leave now while the monsters are staying still."
She couldn't just leave the people like this, so she led the two and moved quietly.
The monsters still showed no reaction, so they safely slipped out of the theater.
"Quietly go out of the building following this path. There are police outside."
"Y-Yes... Uuugh..."
The man and woman, still terrified, linked arms and went outside.
Shin Sujin went back inside the theater.
Besides the man and woman, there were still people hiding among the auditorium seating.
"Quietly, come this way."
She evacuated the people outside one or two at a time.
The escape was proceeding rather smoothly.
"Ack...!"
A person climbing the stairs slipped and fell with a loud clatter.
Shin Sujin helped them up and urgently looked back at the monsters.
The Three-Horned Monster that had been wandering among the auditorium seating turned its head this way.
Kyaaak-!
"...Run!"
With a bizarre shriek, the monster leaped.
Shin Sujin guarded against the monster's attack with both arms and was bounced into the wall.
The remaining hidden people screamed and ran out.
She raised her body. Her arms throbbed as if they were broken.
Without even a moment to gather her senses, she had to dodge the monster rushing at her again.
Baaang!
It was incredible strength and speed.
Physical abilities are stronger than at least Level 30.
Shin Sujin activated her Aura Skill.
Narrowly dodging the monster's attacks and looking for an opening, she aimed for its heart and landed a clean hit.
Bam!
The monster's chest burst open.
It was a hit that should have resulted in instant death under normal circumstances.
However, the monster immediately counterattacked as if it were nothing.
Unable to prepare for the counterattack, Shin Sujin was hit in the side by the monster's fist and sent flying.
"Keugh...!"
Shin Sujin coughed up blood.
She felt a dizzying, severe pain, as if her ribs had snapped.
It was the moment the monster lunged again toward her without giving her even a brief moment.
"...!"
Something else lunged from the side, snatching the monster in mid-air.
A massive, pitch-black four-legged beast.
...Another monster that had suddenly appeared from somewhere was chewing on the Three-Horned Monster with it in its mouth.
Shin Sujin watched the sight in dumbfounded silence.
Crunch! Crunch, crunch! Ptooey!
The monster, which looked like a tiger, chewed the Three-Horned Monster to pieces and spat it out.
The Three-Horned Monster, mangled and crushed into a lump of meat, seemed to have died just like that.
Shin Sujin endured the pain and hurriedly raised her body.
However, the Black Tiger killed the Three-Horned Monster in an instant, then sat still with its rear planted on the floor.
...Is it not going to attack?
Shin Sujin was confused but checked her surroundings first.
Fortunately, it seemed everyone had escaped, as there appeared to be no one left in the theater. However...
Sob, sob, sob...
A pitiful crying sound.
Feeling a chill, Shin Sujin looked back toward the stage.
The Three-Horned Monster was dead, but there was still one more monster left, the monster that was still crouching and crying even in this mess.
The goosebumps breaking out on her skin wouldn't stop.
She could just tell. That thing was far stronger than the Three-Horned Monster.
What should I do?
The people had all escaped, but she couldn't just leave the monsters as they were.
Just then, a voice was heard.
"I'll handle this, so please leave."
Shin Sujin was startled and looked around.
However, there was still no one around besides the monsters.
More than that, it was a voice that somehow wasn't unfamiliar.
She realized the identity of the voice.
"Person123...?"
If so, could this monster also be...?
Shin Sujin looked at the Black Tiger sitting quietly.
Only then did she understand the situation: who the master of the Black Tiger was—the one who had killed the Three-Horned Monster without attacking her.
She had received help from him yet again.
“Is it a skill like... Summon?”
How can he handle a monster like this?
Shin Sujin was still confused, but she decided to follow his words for now.
Person123 had come here, and she would be of no help in the battle against that monster. She understood those facts, at least.
Stage 1 to Stage 5 Fallen have horns on their foreheads.
She guessed that the number of horns might indicate the stage.
If so, that crying monster was the highest, a Stage 5 Fallen.
"...Please be careful."
Muttering quietly to her surroundings, Shin Sujin hurriedly slipped out of the theater.